Zoom H6 and Basic Audio Capture Practices

Zoom H6 and Basic Audio Capture Practices, using an Electrovoice EV 635 mic, a 32 GB SD card, headphones and batteries.



The Zoom H6 is an excellent device for radio, film, television and podcast work and has a ton of professional features that can help you with your projects. I'm going to show you how to set the device quickly, so you can get out as fast as possible and start telling your stories.First, you're going to need a couple of things. One 32 GB SD card works perfectly for this and at the time of producing this video can be bought pretty inexpensively. You'll also need four AA batteries. I also recommend getting a power bank so you can charge your smartphone while doing your interviews, but also in a pinch, you can run power from your power bank to the zoom using USB cable. And don't forget your headphones!


A couple of extra notes: Make sure you plug things into the right place and that you're recording. Also, remember to check that the light next to the recording button is lit red and that the numbers are ticking up on the screen. And be sure to check your settings. Don't trust that the last person did it right.

To end, here are some best practice ideas you'll want to implement into your workflow.

Be aware of people's mannerisms. Some people are long-winded, loud, and breathy, and all of those can affect a sound recording.

So don't be afraid to ask the same question a different way to get a more concise answer. They will get to the point faster so they will sound better and you'll save time and editing.

Also, try to get a little more comfortable with your guests. The more comfortable you are, the better your interviews will be. Start by asking a neutral task question while you're setting your levels.

This can be something as simple as how is the weather, what did you think of the game last night, isn't traffic the worst?

All of these will work to get them opening up a bit and to get them used to answering questions that you're asking them.

Don't forget to collect one room in room tone, and when you're recording, hit the record button then wait 3 seconds before asking your question.

Then at the end of the question or interview, give yourself 3 seconds before touching the device and stopping it. And don't forget to carry an extra set of batteries.

One of the most common questions I get asked is when do I use which mic and when. Well, you should be using all of the mics at all times!

You can make those choices of what you use in editing! That's why we want to have the ability to record multiple things at the same time.

But for straight interviews, you should probably use the EV635 attachable microphone. You want your audio recording to be focused solely on the audio that you want your listeners to be hearing. So, for example, if you are interviewing a merchant at the mall, if you close Mike them using the EV635, you'll mostly get them with a little bit of the ambient hustle and bustle noise in the background just to add character. That is very good stuff for interviews.

If you use the built-in XY mics, you'll get the merchant, but they'll also be competing with the ambient sound that's around in the environment. Now, this isn't necessarily bad.

But the reason why I recommend against this is that sometimes this makes it harder for the listener to hear what your guest is saying because they're competing for attention with other noise in the background. Journalism is about clarity. If it's not clear, it's not journalism.

Lastly, garbage in garbage out. There's no magic potion, no awesome magic button, no software solution, and no time machine that will fix lousy recording practices. So take a few extra minutes to do things right, and you'll save yourself a considerable amount of headaches.

Follow a checklist, take your time when you're just starting to set things up correctly, and you'll be in good shape.

Finally, most media platform audiences (and this is not your professors and producers) they'll sometimes forgive poor visual quality on projects. But they are unforgiving when it comes to poor audio quality.

Think of how many times you've clicked on a YouTube video with an exciting thumbnail, only for the audio quality to be atrocious.

And then what happens? You just move to the next video.

Don't let your story remain untold because you didn't take the time to get great audio in the first place.

And that's the zoom h6 in a nutshell. Thanks for watching, and I'd appreciate it if you could like and subscribe to this channel! It's a free way of saying thank you, and I thank you for doing so in advance. Thanks again for watching and I'll catch you guys in the next one!